Buildwas Abbey

The ruins of Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire, built in the 1150s. (For more information about the building see Paradox Place).

One of the essential differences between Romanesque buildings like this one and later gothic buildings was that Romanesque architecture was much more robust -exemplified in the massive columns seen here. This was primarily due to the limits of architectural technology. Columns that were more slender probably would have been desirable, but the skills to construct them successfully had not yet been developed.